Human Chess
Tendo is a quiet city located in Yamagata, in the northern part of Honshu, Japan. It takes about 3 hours from Tokyo Station by the Yamagata Shinkansen Line.
In this city, an event called “Ningen shogi” is held at the top of Mt. Maizuru, which is located in the middle of the city. In Japanese, ningen means human and shogi is the word for Japanese chess.
A giant board is set on the top of the mountain. Forty people, who are volunteers and local high school students, play the role of chess pieces dressed in samurai warriors costumes. The life sized shogi pieces move on the board according to the command of the professional shogi players.
Several professional shogi players are invited for this event. Two players play the shogi game, directing the pieces which way to move, while three commentators discuss the move, using a smaller shogi board.
